Hugo

Hugo is Martin Scorsese's latest film, his first in 3D, based on The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick. It was written by John Logan, directed by Martin Scorsese, and stars Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, Sir Ben Kingsley, and Sacha Baron Cohen.



Going into this film, I was a bit worried. Sure it's Scorsese, but he's doing 2 new things he's never done before: 3D, and a kids film. I thought it would come out good, but not great. Instead, we have one of his most heartfelt films, and one of the best he's ever made. It's a love letter to the early days of cinema.

For every decade Scorsese's been doing films, he has one great film per decade. The 70s, Taxi Driver. The 80s, Raging Bull. The 90s, Goodfellas. The 00s, The Departed. And for the 10s, we have Hugo. Sure we have 8 more years left of him making films (including a possible Sinatra biopic), but I just don't see how he can top this. How is this one of the best films he's ever made? The film, at first glance, looks like it's about two children, on an adventure, in 1920s Paris. Instead, the film is a love letter to cinema, a tribute to the history of cinema, and Georges Melies, one of the earliest filmmakers.

Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) is a young orphan living inside a train station, who lost his father (Jude Law) in a fire. He's working on an automaton his father found. He steal parts from a local toy-shop owner (Ben Kingsley), and is eventually caught. He is forced to work in the shop, and eventually meets Isabelle (Chole Grace Moretz), the toy-shop owner's goddaughter. Together, these two find themselves swept up in an adventure involving some of cinema's earliest films.

Let's start with the acting. The main cast all does very good, especially our two leads, Asa Butterfield and Chloe Grace Moretz. Butterfield is able to capture this sense of hope and despair at the same time, and Moretz is just infectiously fun. Ben Kingsley is also tremendous, playing one of cinema's earliest filmmakers. I'd also like to mention that Sacha Baron Cohen, an actor known for playing comedic roles, does a good job here as the (sort of) villain of the story, the inspector. He's an extremely versatile actor, and I always look forward to seeing his films.

Scorsese has done a lot for film preservation. So I can only imagine that as soon as Selznick released this novel, Scorsese instantly started making this film. It's arguably, the perfect film for him to make. Sure, there are no gangsters, Mafia, or De Niro/DiCaprio, but it's the perfect film for him to make, because it's about some of the earliest films ever made. And he does a tremendous job. There are references to some early films everywhere throughout the film, and he's actually able to make 3D work for the most part. I was genuinely surprised that I saw a 3D film not made by James Cameron that I genuinely enjoyed.

All in all, I severely recommend this film. It's a high class of kids films, and a damn good film at that. Your kid might not enjoy it, cause it definitely isn't a normal kids film. But it's still a damn good film, and if you want your child to see a good movie as opposed to a lot of the crap that comes out nowadays, show them this. Parents'll probably enjoy it too. I give it 10/10.

The Muppets

The Muppets is the latest release in the Muppets film series, the last film, Muppets from Space, being released 12 years ago. It was written by Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller, directed by James Bobin, and stars Jason Segal, Amy Adams, Rashida Jones, Chris Cooper, and the Muppets.



I'm an 18 year old university student. Needless to say, I don't really watch the Muppets, I didn't grow up with them in their prime, and I don't know much about them. I of course know of Kermit and Miss Piggy, but aside from them, I didn't really know offhand of any other Muppets, aside from Animal, simply because he is essentially Keith Moon: the Muppet. Going into this film, I had heard the critical praise, and knew that I'd have a good time. It's a musical comedy revival of a popular puppet series. This wouldn't have been made if it was bad.

And luckily, we have one of the most heartwarming films of this year. Despite the fact that I really don't know much about the Muppets, I found myself shedding a few tears at some points. The basic plot concerns Walter (performed by Peter Linz), who is essentially a Muppet, and his brother, Gary (Jason Segal), and Gary's girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams). For Gary and Mary's anniversary, they take a trip to L.A., with Walter tagging along, as he is a large fan of the Muppets, and wants to visit the Muppet Theater. There, he discovers that an oil magnate, Tex Richman (Chris Cooper), wants to buy the Theater and drill underneath it for oil. Walter finds Kermit the Frog (performed by Steve Whitmire), and they start to get the Muppets back together to put on teleethon to raise $10 million, what they need in order to save the Theater.

Even if you don't know much about the Muppets, you'll enjoy this film. It's got great and catchy songs, tremendously hilarious jokes, and a slew of cameos that will keep you laughing for hours after the film ends. And here's a list of my 3 favourite cameos from this film:
3. Alan Arkin as the tour guide
2. Mickey Rooney (yes, THE Mickey Rooney) as a resident of Smalltown
1. Dave Grohl as Animool (a member of the Moopets, a Muppets knock off)
 The only real problem I have with the film is a bit of a cop-out ending, but it's forgivable. The film is a true heartfelt love letter to the Muppets. I never knew that Jason Segal was such a big Muppets fan, but I'm glad he is, as he knows the best way to handle them, and how to make them famous again. Kudos, Jason Segal.

Overall, I highly recommend this film to everyone, Muppet fan or not. I give this film a 9.5/10.

Manamana.